shelly shepard gray never disappoints. This was a wonderful story and I read it straight thru. Second chances are an amazing thing when its the right time, place and person. If you want to feel good read this

I actually quite liked this one, minus a few little things. Kayla and Sean knew of each other due to going to the same high school. Sean was a jock from the football team and Kayla was a quiet, shy, choir girl. They two cliques didn't have much interaction with each other, but they knew each other's names, more or less.

Fast forward and Kayla is trying to get onto her feet after divorcing her cheating husband she was with from shortly after high school to a few months ago. He wasn't the greatest and while they were trying to work on their marriage, he was having an affair. He completely screwed her over in the divorce too, taking advantage of her naivety and her quiet, gentle nature. With nothing more than a high school diploma, she finds it hard to make ends meet working her retail job at a card shop. And it just keeps getting harder cause her boss is a bit of a bee-with-an-itch.

Sean lost his wife 3 years ago and has just been focusing on his job and his kid. He takes Saturday to do a bit of volunteer work at Loaves of Love, a food bank that also makes fresh bread. Volunteers come in and make 2 or more loaves of bread, get one to take home and one goes into the food bank store area. It's a pretty good deal and he loves the people there and giving back to his community a little bit.

When Kayla finally admits she can no longer afford to feed herself, never mind her bills, she goes to Loaves of Love. There the elderly patron Edna convinces her to stay and make two loaves of bread, one for herself and one for someone else in need while Edna goes and gets her a bag worth of necessities. Kayla and Sean meet again over bowls of flours they are making into dough and hit it off. Sean thinks she's just there to volunteer, and Kayla, wanting to keep her pride intact, lets him think that. Quickly their reacquaintance turns into friendship and the friendship rapidly turns into something rather romantic with him inviting her over for dinners, helping her find a new job, introducing her to his family, etc. But while he feels like he's pouring his past out to her, she obviously holding back.

So what did I think?

As previously stated, I quite like this one. I only have small grievances with the story, but they didn't ruin the plot by any means.

The first, T.A.s, E.A.s and 'Paraprofessionals' do NOT make a livable wage. I don't know where in ALL of North America you can track down a Teacher's aid, or other, how can look you in the eye and say they make enough to comfortably live. Most EAs who are a single income house work at least two jobs. I know one or two who are working three in order to make ends meet. So I don't know where the heck Kayla is working, but I know about 4000+ EAs, TAs, Librarians, Custodians, Cafeteria people, etc who want what she's got.

The second, Kayla never does really open up 'on page' to Sean, even after their talk and then again after he reminds her. Just saying.

I did enjoy how the author left the epilogue rather ambiguous. Their courtship was maybe, maybe a couple of months long. So to keep negative nelly readers like me happy, they didn't apply an exact timeline to things. I like that.

So all in all it was a nice, clean, fluffy romance read that I really enjoyed!

This was so great! I finished it a full week ago and haven’t stopped thinking about how good it made me feel. I wanted something easy and fun, to feel warm and fuzzy. This was perfect!

Sean is a young widower raising his 6yr old son Jackson when newly divorced Kayla walks into their lives. Sean and Kayla went to school together years ago and found themselves reconnecting during shared volunteer time baking bread at their local food bank. Their romance progressed sweetly and young Jackson was a lot of fun to read. This author is wonderful and I love that baking played a part in the story.

What a sweet story that I fell in love with immediately.
A quote I wanted to share
Edna smiled. "How about you just be you? I happen to think that the world would be a pretty bad place without you in it. Now, come on. Let's get this done.
Gray's stories are full of heartfelt characters going through life's every day struggles and learning to come out on top
This one is not any different.
The protagonist Kayla is a sweet girl. I love her down to earth humbleness and I enjoyed in getting to know her.
Never be ashamed to ask for help even though it is hard sometimes.
It's what brings to mind Pride goeth before a fall. Only Kayla didn't ask for any of that.
I think that would be a scary thing learning to do over all on your own. But she really wasn't alone. God was with her through it all and so were her wonderful friends that she made along the way.
This was a great story of learning to start over and leaning to lean on friends anf God to help you through.
5 star for a heartfelt story. I was enjoying this all the way through..I hated to see it end.
My thanks for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine.

Loved thus book. It was great seeing two groups of people getting together after a lengthy time apart and the romance that each shared. And how they came to terms with it. Hopefully Edna‘s romance will blossom in the next book.

I was able to read Their Surprise Reunion from NetGalley. Kayla is in a rough spot since her divorce. She needs help and arrives at Loves of Love. Due to a misunderstanding, she starts volunteering to make bread. During her first shift she meets Sean. Sean and Kayla went to school together. Sean was the star football player who got the scholarship and the college girlfriend. Now he is widowed with a son Jackson. Sean and Kayla reconnect. He also helps Kayla get a new job, and a new outlook. This was such a great read. I highly recommend this to everyone.

Loved reading the inspirational and fabulous story. When Kayla who is trying to get over a bad divorce finally has the courage to go to the food bank for food, she is talked into making bread loves and gets to know Sean, a football hero from high school, who has a six year old son. Read the highly recommended, wonderfully written, and a must read engaging story by the fabulous author, Shelley Shepard Gray.